By Lim Vin Tsen January 28, 2018 The Faculty of Business of Business, Economics and Accounting (FBEA) has been organizing a series of ongoing talks that aims to provide their students with continuous fresh and engaging perspectives with current industry-relevant information that pertains to their major of studies as well as their future careers. These talks include topics on, ranging from finance, accounting, international business and marketing, all of which are for the betterment of their students.

Their series of Guest Lectures thus far had included one session on auditor independence as well as various talks delivered by professors from HELP’s partner universities such as Middlesex University, Macquarie University, University of West England and the University of Essex, Dublin Business School, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics just to name a few as well as captains of various industries. The topic for this month’s lecture series was “Goods and Services Tax (GST) versus Sales and Services Tax (SST)” and it was conducted by Mr Eng Terng Pan. Mr Eng is one of the co-founders and partners of SIMways Formulation PLT. His company strives to provide value-added practical and professional solutions in business management and accounting, specializing in taxation.

He began his lecture by explaining to the class the reason why the introduction of GST was not favoured by the public. He highlighted that the public felt that with the introduction of GST, the prices of goods and services in Malaysia have gone up without seeing any significant benefits to the additional revenue collected. Mr. Eng explained that the Sales Tax is only imposed on the manufacturers while, the Service Tax is imposed on consumers when they are using taxable services. According to him, SST rates are less transparent than GST. GST has a standard 6% rate whereas the SST rates vary from 6 to 10%. On the other hand, GST affects everyone:; the manufacturers, retailers and consumers. The sales tax affects the users while service tax affects certain prescribed services like professional services. The suppliers could claim back the GST from the government. However, the government does not instantly refund the GST claims and this has negatively impacted the companies operating cash flows.

Mr. Eng pointed out that depending on the SST coverage, consumers could be paying the same or slightly more for certain items. Overall, the tax burden will be reduced. This being the case, consumers will be enjoying an overall increase in disposable income. Depending on the types of goods and services that will be subjected to SST, the price impact will vary by income groups according to what is consumed. He said the drop or increase in prices of goods depends on a number of factors such as how many levels there are in the product supply chain between manufacturer and consumer. Hence, consumers can expect prices to adjust differently based on the type of good or service.

He said that the drop or increase in prices of goods depends on a number of factors. One of the factors is the number of levels in the product supply chain from the manufacturers to the consumers. Hence, consumers can expect prices to adjust differently depending on the types of goods and services. About 70 students and staff attended the talk. Dr. Cheah Sin Chye, the Head of Department of Business Studies presented Mr. Eng with a token of appreciation at the end of the talk.

HELP University is renowned for its business, accounting, and finance programmes. Its graduates are well received by various industries and are able to secure jobs in many multi-national companies within six months of graduation. The Faculty of Business, Economics, and Accounting at HELP is one of the largest business schools in the region.

It’s Bachelor of Business (Accounting) (Honours) degree is recognised by many international professional accounting bodies such as the Association of Chartered Accountants (ACCA), the Certified Practising Accountants (CPA) Australia, the Institute or Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). HELP’s Business programmes are offered in the Subang 2 campus, as well as in the Damansara Heights campus.

For more information on HELP University’s Business programmes, please visit our website www.help.edu.my or call us at 03-2716 2000.